Flash drive: Meet Emil George, of the fastest solo car expedition aross India

Growing up in the village of Kudiyanmala in Kannur, Kerala, he watched daring jeep drivers race down rutted roads in all weather. “The jeep was our mode of transport… for carrying agricultural goods, going to church or school,” says George, 35. “Each vehicle often carried up to 20 people. The drivers manoeuvred through muddy, often dangerous roads, and they were local heroes.”

Like most boys in his village, this was his dream job. He learnt to drive early, and picked up the basics of car repair. But he grew up wanting to do more, venture further than the local agricultural produce markets that were the furthest point for the village vehicles.

Last year, that dream was realised. George drove 19,426 km across India in 97 days (September 20 to December 26, 2022), setting a record for fastest solo car expedition across mainland India, in the India Book of Records.

He travelled with a friend, vlogger Sherin Paul, but did all the driving, so claimed the record alone. He called it his Discover India mission, and quite a few sponsors climbed on board, including a study-abroad consultancy, an e-learning company and a matrimonial platform.

The record was incidental, he says. What matters is that he can now say he is an all-terrain, all-weather driver, who has seen his country from end to end. This is a dream he had been working towards for decades.

It began when his parents, both farmers, enrolled him in a boarding school in Kannur city at the age of 10. In the library of his new school, travel and nature magazines offered him hints of what lay beyond the stretch of Kerala that had so far marked the extent of his world. “I saw images of mountains and rivers… things that I had only heard about. I decided that I must see all of it,” he says.

He started small, while a college student in Kochi, criss-crossing south India on a motorcycle. He got his first job, with an immigration consultancy, and began saving up for further travel. At 27 came two major milestones. He married his “greatest supporter”, Anju M Sabu, a bank manager; and they bought their first car, an SUV.

Four years later, in 2019, he quit his job and started a car servicing and parts distribution business that left him with more time to travel. His road trips (he often travelled solo or with friends, his wife preferring to stay home) got longer, stretching as far as Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.

Then, last year, Paul suggested a road trip through the north-east, a region he had not ventured into yet. They could drive to Sikkim and head across the seven sister states from there, she said. “Given that we were covering such a distance already, we decided to make it an all-India trip,” says George.

“What took up most of our space were the clothes,” George says, laughing. “With no time to wash and dry, we had to pack enough to last us through the trip, which were over 60 pairs each. The back half of the vehicle was just full of clothes.”

What was it like, driving from the desert state of Rajasthan to the highest motorable roads in the world, through the Himalayas, and on to totally unfamiliar lands?

The mountains were the toughest parts. Acute mountain sickness made breathing difficult and caused drowsiness, which felt terrifying on the high, narrow roads with hairpin bends. “I often had to step out of the vehicle and wake myself up. At its lowest, the temperature was -25 degrees Celsius with strong winds. Any skin that was exposed felt like needles were piercing through it. Getting out of the car felt really counterproductive because each stop used up so much energy,” George says.

Driving in fresh snow, with little practice, was gruelling. “Almost none of the usual rules apply. For instance, you just can’t touch the brakes. You just have to inch steadily forward.”

Amid days of this, they had to halt, over and over, for days, driven off the roads by bad weather. The duo lost six days to a landslide in Sikkim and seven days in Ladakh, because of an avalanche at the Zoji La pass.

This meant that they got to Ladakh in December, a good deal further into the winter than they had planned. Very late snowfall last year meant that they could at least keep going, but they lost another 10 days in Dras near Kargil, to an avalanche.

“The snow chains were put to good use,” says George. The most dominant memory he has of those days is of changing gears, over and over, and moving at a crawling pace. “Those days seem a bit unreal now.”

When George and Paul finally reached the Umling La pass in Ladakh, the highest motorable road in the world, it felt like a huge achievement. “There were almost no other cars, and we had made it to the top,” George says. (Paul is travelling and was not available for comment).

Back home now, his record has made news and he is enjoying the attention. “More people are willing to collaborate on future trips.” His next goal is to drive through all 26 Schengen countries, on a journey that he plans to begin in September.

The thing he’s proudest of, for now? Returning to Kochi without a scratch on his SUV. “We covered all kinds of roads and terrain across 97 days without a serious glitch,” he says, grinning. “I feel as connected to this car as if it were a family member.”